Perch Now in Bay in Good Numbers

Fishing is picking up in Presque Isle Bay.  Crappies are hitting in the Stinkhole area and perch are being caught throughout the bay.  The usual spots are hot.  The second and third parking lots on Presque Isle are yielding a lot of jumbo perch if you have a boat and can get out into 8 feet or so of water.  If you are a shore fisherman, all areas of the bay are good. 

Yesterday, my brother and I went out and caught some nice perch.  He caught a monster 14 incher on a live shiner and then followed it up with a nice 10 inch fish.  I tried jigging; and I used a red glow jig.  I caught three nice perch on the jig and then caught a good one on a live shiner. 

We ended up with 6 good fish that are going to make a great meal.  The perch should be spawning within the next week and then will start moving towards the channel.  Both the south pier and north pier will be getting hot within the next couple weeks.  Good luck fishing!

Slow Perch Day.

This morning was cold with a strong breeze from the north.  You know what they say?  If the wind is from the north do not venture forth.  That phrase was very correct this morning.  The south pier was lined up with fisherman hoping to catch some tasty Lake Erie Yellow Perch. 

Most guys left with nothing but a chill from off the lake.  I caught 1 fish and it was a good one (11 inches).  The guy next to me caught 4 fish, all keepers, and thanks to him I left with 5 fish in my bucket.  Everybody else that showed up early did pretty poorly and most early risers took off before I left at 8:30 am. 

Well, everyday can't be a great fishing day so maybe next time I go I will catch more.  Happy Hookin'

Perch Hitting Well in Presque Isle Bay.

The weather was cold and rainy this morning but the Bay was like glass.  There was a small breeze out of the south to start the morning.  I set up in the dark and it did not get light too quickly.  After fishing for about 15 minutes without a bite, I thought that today was going to turn out to be a skunking.  But then, my pole started bouncing and I heaved in a nice perch.  The next half hour I could only fish with 1 pole as the fish were biting almost as soon as the bait hit bottom.  I caught about 15 fish today and threw back 6.  The keepers were all  nice fish from 8 to 11 inches.  Once again, I saw a few jumbos caught and all the fisherman today had decent catches. 

The bite today was totally over by 9 am.  I am starting to think that there are so many minnows in the bay that the feeding fish quickly get stuffed and then they are done eating for the day.  It pays to roll out of bed when it is dark and get out there before the fish shut their mouths.  Happy Hooking!

Jumbo Perch Around Piers.

Today my cousin and I ventured down to the South Pier just after sunup and were attempting to catch some jumbo perch. The current in the channel was really strong making fishing difficult. We moved out to the end of the pier and in about 15 minutes I caught a whopper of a perch. A big fat 12 incher. My cousin then caught one of the smallest perch I have ever seen caught:) We had a couple more bites within the next half hour but by 9:00 am forget it, the bite was off and the wind began to really pick up.

One other fisherman caught 3 nice perch and that was about it for today at the South Pier. The nice perch are moving in with the colder water temps and there should be some good days coming up before ice starts forming. Good luck fishing the piers and make sure you bring enough weight to keep your bait in the water if the current is like today.

Perch Fishing Improves Off of Local Piers.

This past week I have been scouting the piers and looking to see what the fisherman are catching. Quite a few perch are now being caught, many are small but there are jumbos mixed in. Steelhead are now in all of the local streams in large numbers. Out at Walnut Creek this past week there were an estimated 1200 fish from near the mouth up to the hole just above the first bridge. Fisherman are catching quite a few steelhead with those using lighter lines faring the best in clear water conditions. Steelhead fishing around Erie will continue to be very good to excellent from now until the end of April unless the streams become frozen later on. Happy Fishin'

Perch Fishing Slow in Channel.

It's name is Perca flavescens, common name yellow perch, and this is the fish that is most sought from the fishing piers surrounding Erie, PA. Today, I went fishing for this tasty fish and the weather really was not cooperating. The wind was blowing hard out of the northwest and there was a bad current in the channel which kept moving my bait towards the lake reminding me of river fishing. Then it started raining and right before I was about to forget fishing and go home and watch football, it suddenly quit raining and I was able to fish until dark. I managed to catch a whopping two fish: one nice sized 10 inch perch and a round goby.

I talked to several other fisherman who did not do any better. It appears that there are a few nice perch moving into the pier waters but the vast majority of them are still out in the lake. Crappies seem to have disappeared from alongside the piers. Steelhead appear to be moving closer to shore in decent numbers as I saw quite a few splashing the surface before dark. The weather has not been that cooperative for fishing the past few days. I plan on getting back out this week scouting for both returning perch and steelhead. Happy fishin'